(A) The state board of education shall establish rules for the issuance of a supplemental teaching license. This license shall be issued at the request of the superintendent of a city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district, educational service center, or the governing authority of a STEM school, chartered nonpublic school, or community school to an individual who meets all of the following criteria:

(1) Holds a current professional or permanent Ohio teaching certificate or resident educator license, professional educator license, senior professional educator license, or lead professional educator license, as issued under section 3319.22 or 3319.26 of the Revised Code;

(2) Is of good moral character;

(3) Is employed in a supplemental licensure area or teaching field, as defined by the state board;

(4) Completes an examination prescribed by the state board in the licensure area;

(5) Completes, while employed under the supplemental teaching license and subsequent renewals thereof, additional coursework, if applicable, and testing requirements for full licensure in the supplemental area as a condition of holding and teaching under a supplemental teaching license.

(B) The employing school district, service center, or school shall assign a mentor to the individual holding a supplemental teaching license. The assigned mentor shall be an experienced teacher who currently holds a license in the same, or a related, content area as the supplemental license.

(C) Before the department of education will issue an individual a supplemental teaching license in another area, the supplemental licensee must complete the supplemental licensure program, or its equivalent, and be issued a standard teaching license in the area of the currently held supplemental license.

(D) An individual may advance from a supplemental teaching license to a standard teaching license upon:

(1) Verification from the employing superintendent or governing authority that the individual holding the supplemental teaching license has taught successfully in the licensure area for a minimum of two years; and

(2) Completing requirements as applicable to the licensure area or teaching field as established by the state board.

(E) A licensee who has filed an application under this section may work in the supplemental licensure area for up to sixty school days while completing the requirements in division (A)(4) of this section. If the requirements are not completed within sixty days, the application shall be declined.

Added by 132nd General Assembly File No. TBD, SB 216, §1, eff. 11/2/2018.